I think you have already identified several, but when I think about Hagerstown I think development. Around here I think you would like the Yellow Springs area. If I still worked in that area that is where I would live, despite the lack of a single Republican.

I’d be more concerned about healthcare than the airport. You wont use it all that much. 90 minutes is not so bad. I would think more about it being a hub.

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:
Another option we are thinking about is Whidbey Island. I like the arts community there, the climate is lovely. One hour to Seattle for airport and medical care.

Whidbey island is not cheap. Western Washington housing prices are high too. Our
Ferndale house (that we sold for $365K) is now worth $780K according to Zillow. Doubt you would have any more luck finding horse property there than you would in Missoula.

Frankly I think you need to hang out where you are until winter changes some people’s minds about living in Montana. Or you could cash in now and move to Texas. Or cash in and forget about property and move to a house In a town you like board your horse. No way do I want to leave the northwest. I would rather have winter than hot/humid and too many bugs.

quote:

Originally posted by jodi:

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:
Another option we are thinking about is Whidbey Island. I like the arts community there, the climate is lovely. One hour to Seattle for airport and medical care.

Whidbey island is not cheap. Western Washington housing prices are high too. Our
Ferndale house (that we sold for $365K) is now worth $780K according to Zillow. Doubt you would have any more luck finding horse property there than you would in Missoula.

Possibly. But after studying both markets it is clear we can get more house for our money in western WA than we can in Missoula.

quote:

move to a house In a town you like board your horse.

That is increasingly looking like the only way to move back to Misaoula and have a decent house. There are parts of town where people have back yard horses--right around the horse park. We've looked at several of these properties but we didnt care for the houses.

Another thing, traffic is pretty much insane on the other side of the cascades. I was there (driving) in 2019 and was really surprised at how claustrophobic/crowded it felt. The horse property my friend sold for $600somethingK a few years ago just recently sold again for over a million! Craziness.

You could never bore me to tears, darling.

I hear the Missoula horse park is pretty cool. I might suffer a not so cool house to live near it!

quote:

Originally posted by jodi:
I hear the Missoula horse park is pretty cool. I might suffer a not so cool house to live near it!

We passed on 2 acres with a small barn adjacent to the horse park because we really disliked the house. It was the only house we've looked at that our agent tried hard to talk us into (she's been negative on just about everything else). If the only thing I cared about was horse accommodations she would have been right. I just can't see spending that kind of money on a house with a horrible layout. It would have driven me crazy every single day.

We just looked at a really cool older house also by the horse park. Loved the house. But it needed so, so much work, and it was at the very top of our budget. We can't take on a big remodeling project at that price point.

I’m with you on the remodeling/building projects. Done that to the max and it’s not something I want to waste any more brainwaves on again!

This is a subject that Mary Anna and I bounce around repeatedly. Her draws are children and grandchildren and her sister, and right now they are very far apart. At the moment, it looks like New England is the best bet ... it's close to her daughter in NY, her sister in MA, and one of my daughters who is currently in upstate NY. (And my elderly mother in CT.) But things could change between now and when she's ready to retire.

If we were moving tomorrow, I'd guess that we'd live in Western CT, and spend more than we might prefer in order to have easy access to our loved ones and to an airport.

I really wonder if NY / New England May start becoming a haven for climate refugees. Not right away but within 10 years if things continue as they have. Sure, there are cold winters but weather disasters are still rare compared to many other places.

quote:

Originally posted by RealPlayer:
I really wonder if NY / New England May start becoming a haven for climate refugees. Not right away but within 10 years if things continue as they have. Sure, there are cold winters but weather disasters are still rare compared to many other places.

Boston was named as the number 1 climate refuge in the USA due to some savvy infrastructure the city has built to foil rising seas.

Not to mention it is just the coolest city. Love that place.

I could see you as a neighbor, piqué.

The climate is temperate in western PA, although the winters tend to be very cloudy. The Pittsburgh airport has lots of direct flights, depending on where you want to go. It was a hub airport in USAir days, but the various mergers changed that route structure.

Pittsburgh has a large medical and educational community with two major hospital networks, UPMC and Allegheny Health Network, and world-class universities including Carnegie-Mellon, my alma mater.

The Cultural District in Pittsburgh provides a great variety of events including the Pittsburgh Symphony, and other nearby venues cater to jazz, dance, art galleries, and almost anything I like to see. The Carnegie Museums include excellent art and natural history museums, the Andy Warhol museum, and the Carnegie Science Center.

I don't think you are particularly interested in sports, but, for those who are, we have major league teams in three sports - Stellers football, Penguins hockey, and Pirates baseball. There is also a soccer team - the Riverhounds. College sports are also a big draw for some people.

Wilder country is not so far away in the Laurel Highlands and further afield in north-central PA where the elk again roam. A variety of trails open up many areas to access. A couple of FLW houses including Fallingwater are not far.

I'm retired now, and am in no hurry to move. My home is about 15 miles from downtown Pittsburgh and, while I've gotten more neighbors since I moved here in 1983, I'm in no hurry to leave.

If all this strikes some chord for you, ask questions about specific issues that you'd like to know more about and I'll try to point you toward good information and resources.

Big Al